Registration is now open for the first annual Government Social Media Conference & Expo (GSMCON), taking place in Reno, Nevada from April 29 – May 1, 2015. Unlike all other national social media conferences, GSMCON was created specifically for those whose work involves social media management for government entities rather than the corporate world.

GSMCON attendees will benefit from dozens of informative sessions led by social media professionals such as keynote speakers Katie Harbath, Facebook’s Global Politics & Government Outreach Manager, and Lindsay Crudele, Community & Social Technology Strategist for the City of Boston.

In addition to the outstanding lineup of sessions and keynotes, a vendor expo introducing social products and services geared toward state and local government agencies will also take place during the conference.

Other benefits include:

Affordable registration. If you’ve ever attended a professional conference, you know they can be pricy. GSMCON offers the same great training opportunities as other social media conferences at a much more affordable rate. Limited volunteer opportunities are also available. Approved volunteers who satisfy their agreed-upon volunteer requirements can receive a credit for free registration.

Numerous networking opportunities. Interact with representatives from popular social media platforms as well as other government social media professionals.

Continue your education. Never stop learning! Listen, learn, and enhance your social media skills through the informative sessions as well as the networking opportunities.

Great hotel rates. GSMCON is taking place at the AAA four-diamond Atlantis Resort. Attendees who request the GSMCON block of rooms can receive the deeply discounted rate of $69/night throughout the conference. (There is even a free airport shuttle for Atlantis guests!)

A fun city! Get ready to be impressed! Named the state of Nevada’s 2014 eCity by Google, Reno is quickly becoming a hub for startups and tech companies. There are also plenty of fun things to do.

GSMCON was founded and organized by Government Social Media, LLC. The conference is co-hosted in 2015 by Archive Social, the government’s solution for managing public records of social media.

Nextdoor.com announced the launch of “Nextdoor for Public Agencies” today (which is by no coincidence the National PrepareAthon! Day of Action).

The average Joe uses the Nextdoor social network to connect with their neighbors about local issues. It is a closed network only open to the people who live in each neighborhood. But with today’s announcement, public agencies across the United States will be able to tap in to the platform to connect with citizens and address hyperlocal issues and concerns. The application to police and public safety communications alone could make Nextdoor a game-changer. Continue reading Nextdoor Social Network Now Available for Public Agencies→

Humane societies and lottery commissions have it easy on social media. Everyone likes to see pictures of cute puppies for adoption and lucky citizens holding oversized checks!

Most government agencies don’t have social media ‘likes’ served to them on a silver platter – but what about the agencies with the hardest time on social media because they run services that people don’t care for? There are always exceptions, but people generally don’t have a great love for DMVs, unemployment offices, tax assessors, etc.

Hundreds of government employees tuned into a webinar on July 8 focused on how to create content for social media (with a focus on doing it quickly, yet strategically).

I hosted the webinar, and I have a theory on why it was so popular. Although there are a lot of introductory social media webinars out there (I’ve hosted them myself!), no one is really focusing on ‘content strategy’ for local government in a big way. Nearly everyone recognizes the value of social media in the public sector, but how do we get the most bang for our buck with our limited resources?

Watch the webinar replay here and weigh in on the conversation with your own ideas!

I recently got married (in an awesomely nerdy LOTR* themed wedding) and changed my last name from Fifelski to my husband’s last name, Dalton. Legally changing your name and dealing with altering it on your driver’s license, passport, debit cards, online billing, etc. is quite a process. However, this process was equaled in tediousness when it came to changing my digital footprint on social media. Continue reading Changing Your Name on Social Media→

Facebook has been rolling out several new features recently. In my quick webcam video, I explain all of these changes in under 3 minutes.

We cover the announcement about changes to page tagging, drag & drop images and I also mention the ‘Posted By’ feature again because it’s really, really helpful for admins of Facebook pages with multiple managers. Continue reading Facebook Changes Explained→

Ride-alongs are structured programs offered by many police departments that allow civilians to ride in a patrol car while observing an officer on duty. They are a great way for people with an interest in a future law enforcement career to spend “a day on the job.” Ride-alongs are also popular among journalists covering police beats. Continue reading What is a Twitter Ride-Along?→

As you develop your agency’s social media strategy for 2014, should you add podcasts to your playbook? Guest contributor Mark Fletcher talks about podcasting as a way to reach your audience. Listen to an audio version of this blog post –

By definition, according to Wikipedia, “social media refers to interaction among people in which they create, share, and/or exchange information and ideas in virtual communities and networks.” While most people would think that ‘interaction’ portrays a two-way conversation using the originating media, I will argue that any conversation that is sparked by a ‘media interaction’ should be considered as social media, as well as the original media content.

Actually, Podcasting is really nothing more than a form of “audio blogging.” For the past four years I’ve produced podcasts on a weekly basis, delivering them in three multimedia formats; MP3 audio podcasts, a written blog, and occasionally a YouTube video which may or may not include additional graphical elements. Continue reading Is Podcasting Social Media?→

Dogs are a man’s best friend, but they certainly aren’t cheap. Just ask any pet owner! The cost of food, supplies, medicine, and vet appointments for dogs, cats, and other “fur babies” can definitely add up!

Animal shelter employees and volunteers undoubtedly understand all of the costs associated with taking care of animals. Shelters—which can be non-profit entities or government-run departments—house, feed, and care for homeless, lost, and abandoned pets, often with limited budgets. The success of most animal shelters depends on government funding or grants, donations from the public, and the assistance of unpaid workers.

People just can’t get enough of zombies these days. These walking corpses with a hunger for human flesh are so popular, in fact, that they’ve become the focal point of video games, books, and even advertisements in addition to horror movies and gory television shows.

One of the questions I hear all the time – perhaps even most frequently – is whether or not every department should have its own Facebook page.

The question typically comes from staff responsible for coordinating the agency’s social media presence (commonly they reside in the executive office, public communications office, or web/IT). They keep getting requests from various departments that want to start their own Facebook pages. It seems like a good thing and a bad thing all at once.

We’ve all seen the AT&T commercial where the little girl explains in the simplest terms why more is better than less; “We want more, we want more. Like you really like it, you want more”. Too often social media falls into this category, and there is certainly no shortage of platforms clamoring for our attention. But before you run to your leadership demanding presences on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest and Instagram ~ I dare you to ask yourself “why?” Continue reading Taking the shiny out of social→

Twitter announced a new ‘custom timeline’ feature this November. It’s a way to create a collection of tweets surrounding a particular topic, or tweets by certain people, or tweets using a particular hashtag, etc. The point is that you can customize the timeline in almost any way you want, give it a title, and embed it on your website. Let’s explore how government might be able to use this feature. Continue reading How can government use the new Twitter Custom Timeline?→